Air relief valve for steam radiators



June 5, 1934. R FICKERT 1,962,063

AIR RELIEF VALVE FOR STEAM RADIATORS Filed Oct. 4, 1932 IIWMIIw/2////////////////A V I INVENTQR WITNESSES uazzw Fwhardfwkerfi I/ M BYATTORN EYS Patented June 5, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GustavRichard Fickert, East Orange, N. J.; Minna. Fickert administratrix ofsaid Gustav R. Fickert, deceased Application October 4,

2 Claims.

This invention relates to means for controlling the inlet and outlet ofair from steam radiators, the object being to provide an improved airinlet and outlet valve for steam radiators which may be readily adjustedat any time and which when adjusted will automatically provide anopening and closing of the valve structure according to the temperatureof the parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide an air inlet and reliefvalve for steam radiators wherein a specially constructed expansiblememher is presented having a plurality of units formed so as to alwaysreturn to their former position after each expansion.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a valve of thecharacter described a resilient support for the expansible member so asto cause the valve and seat to engage with a yielding pressure.

In the accompanying drawing- Figure 1 is a longitudinal verticalsectional view through a valve disclosing an embodiment of theinvention, most of the interior part being shown in elevation;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the resilient support shown in Figure1;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view through the expansible membershown in Figure 1;

Referring to the drawing by numerals, 1 indicates a base which may becast or otherwise formed. The base 1 is formed with an exteriorlythreaded stem 2 adapted to be screwed into a suitable threaded aperturein a radiator to act as a connection between the valve and the radiatorand also as a conductor for con ducting air and steam from the radiator.The base 1 is provided with an internally threaded annular flange 3adapted to have the threaded end of the casing 4 screwed therein. Thecasing 4 is provided with a restricted neck 5 at the upper part, saidneck being internally threaded for receiving the threaded portion of anadjusting screw 6, which screw has a head '7 and a passageway 8extending therethrough, said passageway having an enlarged bore 9 sothat a valve seat 10 is formed.

The neck is provided with an enlarged portion 11 which is threadedexteriorly for receiving the cap structure 12 while the interiorreceives the head 7, which head is provided with a slot or groove 13whereby a screw driver or other implement may be used forrotating thescrew to secure the desired adjustment. Arranged internally of thecasing 4. is an expansible member 14 which is supported on the bottom bya re- 1932, Serial No. 636,222

silient adaptor or support 15 and which at the upper end carries aneedle valve 16, which valve ccacts with the valve seat 10 for closingthe passageway.

As shown in Figure 3, the needle valve 16 is screwed into a nut 17soldered or otherwise rigidly secured to the top unit 18 of theexpansible member 14. From Figure 3 it will be noted that there areprovided units 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23, unit 23 being rigidly securedto the plate 24 by solder or other means, this plate being formedwith atubular guide 25. Six units have been illustrated but it will be evidentthat a greater or less number can be used without departing from thespirit of the invention.

It will be noted that each unit is provided with a top header 26 and abottom header 27, each header being dished or concaved inwardly whilethe flange 28 of header 26 is approximately twice as wide as the flange29 of header 27. This arrangement provides a good overlap for theflanges and presents a shoulder for the reception of solder along thecorner or edge 30. This same structure is carried out through all theunits, the top unit, however, being soldered to the half eyelet rivet 31and to the nut 17, while the bottom unit 23 is soldered to the halfeyelet rivet 32 and to the flange 24.

It will be noted that each of the headers is provided with an offsetportion 33 and that these offset portions come together or contact inall the intermediate headers so that the respective eyelet rivets 34 maybe applied and thereby act to connect the respective headers. Inaddition to having eyelets arranged as shown in Figure 3 the parts arealso soldered so as to insure an absolutely air-and-liquid-tight connection.

By this arrangement there is free communication between the interior ofthe respective units, the communication beting through the respectiveeyelet rivets 34. The concave or dishshaped arrangement of the headersis important in that they permit the various units to. expand until theheaders are substantially straight or flat, and when the temperature hasdecreased these headers will automatically and always return to theirformer position. A suitable expanding liquid 35 is placed in the unitsand, in fact, the units are completely filled with this liquid so thatwhen heat is applied the liquid will expand and will expand the variousunits.

In actual use it has been found that the use of six units all of acertain size will readily ,takes place, and after the air escapes outpast the needle valve.

expand .04 inches and under most circumstances this is ample to securethe desired result. The liquid used may be quenching oil or other liquidwhich is non-drying and which will not vaporize in ordinary heat and isfree from oxygen. When the expansible member 14 is heated the liquidtherein will expand and, consequently, the expansible member willelongate so as to move the needle valve 16 to a position against itsseat 10.

Ordinarily when the adjusting screw 6 has been properly adjusted a freefiow of air will be permitted when the clearance between the needlevalve and the seat is from .015 to .02". However, as above mentioned,the device as disclosed in the drawing will move at least .04.

In order to relieve the expansion or elongation of the unit 14 when thesame becomes appreciably expanded or elongated, the resilient support oradaptor 15 comes into play and yields to a certain extent, thuspreventing the expan ing unit from pressing the needle valve against itsseat with too much pressure, while at the same time permittingsufficient pressure to make for an appreciable tight connection in orderto prevent loss of steam. The resilient support 15 may be of anysuitable spring but it is preferably made from some resilient material,for instance, such as brass, and a number of oppositely positioned sawcuts 36 and 37 are provided whereby a spring or resilient structure isproduced that will give a desired yielding action and at the same timeprovide the desired support. The resilient support is hollow, as shownin the drawing, so that the guide 25 may freely fit therein, and as theguide 25 is hollow it slides freely over the guiding center pin 38.

When the device is first manufactured it is adjusted at the factory sothat the parts will appear substantially as shown in Figure 1 with theclearance between the needle valve 15 and the seat 10 about .02. It willbe understood that the entire valve is .cold, or rather at atmospherictemperature when this adjustment the device has been shipped to thedealer and is eventually applied to a radiator it still remains adjustedin this manner, because the adjusting screw fits rather tightly and willnot accidentally come out of adjustment. If the parts are left in theiroriginal adjusted position they will function perfectly to permit air inthe radiator to escape as the steam enters. When the steam enters theradiator at one end, the air by reason of the pressure immediatelybegins to flow through the stem 2 into casing 4. This air is cold, orrather it is at atmospheric temperature, and, consequently, theexpanding unit is not affected but This continues until the radiator iscompletely filled with steam and some of the steam or warm vapor passesthrough the stem 2 into the casing 4. As this is continued theexpansible member 14 will become heated more and more, and as thetemperature is raised the expansible member will elongate and graduallymove the needle valve 16 towards its seat. It the radiator be-. comeswarmer and the expansible member becomes further expanded, the saidexpansion Will be taken up by the resilient support 15 so that none ofthe parts will become injured or broken, notwithstanding the fact thatthe expansible member may become undesirably hot.

As the expansible member is absolutely air and liquid tight, the liquid35 cannot escape and cannot evaporate, even if it is slightly capable ofevaporation. The valve remains closed as long as the temperature of theexpansible member 14 remains at a certain point, but as soon as theradiator begins to cool and the expansible member cools likewise, itwill begin to contract because the units 18 to 23 are all resilient andall have a tendency to move back to the position shown in Figure 3.

By reason of this tendency whenever the liquid 35 contracts as it cools,the metallic parts of the expansible member will contract and graduallymove the needle valve 16 from its seat. Instantly this will allow theair to enter and again fill the radiator. If steam is again turned onthere will be an increase of pressure in the radiator and the air whichhas entered will be forced out again through the stem 2, casing 4 andassociated parts.

When the expansion of the expansible member 14 is completed the liquid35 is not lost because the parts are liquid and air tight. However, whenfirst filling the expansible member 14 the liquid is poured in throughthe nut 17 and then the threaded end of the needle valve is screwedtightly into place. It is evident that by unscrewing this member theliquid 35 can be removed at any time for repairs or for some otheradjustment.

I claim:

1. An air relief valve of the character described including a hollowcup-shaped base havingan inlet opening on one side, an internallythreaded flange at the upper part and an integral upstanding guiding pinat the center of the lower part, said pin extending axially of the base,a casing screwed on to said flange, said casing being provided with athreaded upper portion, means presenting a valve seat screwed into saidthreaded upper portion, an expansible structure formed with a pluralityof expansible units arranged in alignment positioned within said casing,a valve member rigidly secured to one of said elements and extendingloosely into the means forming said valve seat, a tubular guidepermanently secured to the unit opposite the one carrying the valvemember, said tubular guide slidingly fitting over said pin so as toprevent swaying movement of the expansible units, a spring resting onthe bottom of said base and surrounding said tubular guide, said springacting to resiliently support the expansible structure.

2. An expansible member having a plurality of expansible units, eachunit having concaved top and bottom walls, each 'wall being fiatthroughout andhaving an outwardly pressed annular portion formed with acentrally positioned opening, said outwardly pressed portions beingarranged in contact so that the various expansible units will make aseries, each unit having annular peripheral walls overlapping and meansfor connecting said outwardly pressed annular portions together.

GUSTAV RICHARD FICKERT.

